Time Crossed
by Onyxx-09
Summary: What if you found out you were not from this time, but the future? That is exactly what happened when Tayoncé was kidnapped to year 2040. At first she was glad to get away from her abusive mom in 2009, but now things aren't as happy as they had seemed. Set before the movie. Wilbur/OC. T for now for language & abuse so far. Full summary inside. Please review & tell me what you think
1. Ordinary Complicated Day

**Full summary:**

_What if you found out that everything you knew and everyone you loved had died? That is what Tayoncé found out when she was kidnapped. At first, she was a regular teen living in 2009, with the exception that her mother constantly abused her, unknowing that she was living in the wrong time and was actually born in the future. Her uptight, secured life was flipped upside down when she met the two strangers who had changed her life forever, taking her to the year 2040. Everything here was a complete three-sixty; after meeting the wackiest family she's ever met and shown hospitality she's never known, Tayonc__é_ begins to think that things might actually turn around for the better.

_Now sticking out like a sore thumb, Tayoncé must overcome this new world, because like Gaston told her, there is no way of going back "home." She was never to return to the new, better life she had just began to building for herself back in 2009, despite her pleading. She was stuck here._

_Stranded._

_Gone were her few friends and her school. Gone was her closest friend, Mayonna, and her mother who was going to adopt Tayoncé and report Tayoncé's mother to child services for abuse. Gone was the baby, Esperanza, Tayoncé had found in an alleyway and had begun taking care of. Gone was her favorite ice-cream shop, the swings at the park she's visited since she was young, the boy she was about to finally talk to, the scholarship competition she could have won. Gone was whatever life she could and was about to make._

_Gone was Darla, her other mother in the past. Well, that was a good thing.._

_Suddenly this new life wasn't as happy as it had seemed. Then, someone is hiding a secret about Tayoncé's past, the truth about her origin and her original family, but the answers will not come so easily._

_Set 4 years into time so that Wilbur is 16. Is set before the movie._

_Rated T for abuse, language & mature content in later chapters._

* * *

**Okay, now I've had this idea since I first saw this movie (well my character I did). So its been like 7 years since then, I know. It's been forming and forming, but I finally got in all pieced together a little bit after I saw the movie _Precious_. I realize that _a little _of it will seem like it is from that movie. This has literally been driving me _crazy_.**

**Hopefully this wasn't too long for you all to read, sorry if it is.**

**Read, Review Please.**

**IMPORTANT NOTE: This story contains real-life problems and worldly issues, such as racism, poverty, and abuse. So far, there is profanity/cursing/swearing in here. If you would like, I can put warnings when there will be any mature content ahead.**

**Please enjoy, and tell me what you all think :)**

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**#1 : ~Ordinary Complicated Day**

"_Just a day,  
__Just an ordinary day.  
__Just trying to get by."_

The girl reared her head from her pillow, the sound of a baby's cry waking her once again. She turned over to look at the clock, but managed to fall to the floor instead. Her light brown hair neatly wrapped under the night cap began falling apart underneath. She picked herself up and looked at the digital clock by her cot, since she didn't have a bed. It read 2:36 AM. She sighed, then made her way to the small pallet on the floor, where the small baby lay. Bags were visible on her light caramel skin; the shine in her dark brown eyes had been long gone for years.

The baby's cry quieted to whines when she was picked up. The girl rubbed circles in her small back and talked into her thin hair.

"Shhh, shh. It's alright.. ..Bad dream?" The small girl whimpered louder as if in response. "It's okay. It's going to be okay," she comforted the baby until she stopped completely.

Baby still in arms, she grabbed the box of formula power and a bottle and tip-toed down the rickety stairs into the kitchen. It was one of those all wooden kitchens, that when it would get dirty, it becomes visibly dirty, but impossible to clean because how far the filth is in the wood. It consist of wooden counters, cabinets, countertops, a small table were the older woman ate her meals (who was upstairs snoring loudly) infront of an old fashioned wooden television. Only the refrigerator, microwave, sink, and stove were not made of trees.

She slowly prepared the bottle, careful not to make alot of noise, and prayed that the child would stay quiet, fearful of the punishment she would receive if the woman upstairs awoke. Taking it out of the microwave, she carried everything back upstairs, locking the door behind her. She knew better than to leave it unlocked, especially with the baby now. It could mean only one thing—severe (physical) punishment, or worse: death. But then again, maybe death wouldn't be so bad, compared to what the devilish-woman across the hall have done. She considered it as some kind of escape. In fact, for a long time, she began looking forward to it.

But ever since Esperanza, as was the baby's name being, came into her life, her mother moved to the very tip of her breaking point, being punished and reminded everyday that she was just like her father—a stranger who had raped her mother. And having Esperanza live with them, living at all, was nothing but a mistake, like her.

But that is why she gave her the name Esperanza. Meaning hope. (F.Y.I.: Yes, the baby is Hispanic).

Esperanza finished her bottle at that moment, barely able to keep her tiny hazel eyes open, until she gave up the fight and fell asleep on the girl's shoulder, burping and checking her diaper. When that was accomplished she retired for the night to her cot, already dreading tomorrow morning for the umpteenth time.

*~o~0~o~*

"_Uh-huh,  
__Life's like this.  
__That's just the way it is…_

_Chill out,  
__What you yellin' for?  
__Lay back, it's all been done before._

_And if you could only let it be…_

_Tell me  
__Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?  
__I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else gets me frustrated.  
__Life's like this,  
you fall and you crawl  
__And you break  
And you take what you get  
And you turn it into  
__Honesty…"_

Her sleep was no better than that morning. After being woken up by the pounding on her door by Darla, her mother, saying: "_Tayoncé! You get her lazy black ass down here and make me some breakfast or else," s_he looked even more towards seeing Mayonna today.

Her friend had planned today out perfectly—Tayoncé would take Esperanza and would meet Mayonna and her mom at the video and book exchange, like any other day. But Tayoncé would take as many belongings she could fit in the baby stroller, and they would live with Mayonna, maybe even get adopted by them (Mayonna's mom was the only one out of all her friends' parents who could take them in). And the two wouldn't have to deal with Darla again. They would actually have a happy life, Tayoncé realized.

This thought gave her the energy needed to put up with her horrid mother. Even though this was the sixth day she went without food.

"What's taking you so long, jit?" Darla yelled.

Tayoncé smirked to herself, mentally beaming with happiness, thrilled that this was going to be the last time she was going to hear the—

"_Heffer! _I know you hear me talking to you! What is taking you so long with that food!"

Tayoncé mentally flinched at her mother's harsh words, but not physically. She refused to show any more weakness that she has shown already. "Nothing," she replied.

"Then you should be done by now!"

She sighed, and put everything on a plate, then served the lazy pig in front of the tube.

"Now _this _is a good meal. 'Bout time you did something useful with your no-good-self," Darla said smugly.

Tayoncé slightly nodded, straining not to stare longingly at the mound of eggs, grits, sausages, bacon, with a pancake and waffle, drowned in sugary syrup. A tower of orange juice to wash it all down. She headed up stairs instead.

"Child! Where the hell you think you goin'?" Darla's voice boomed, breaking the silence.

"Goin' to tend to Es-the baby," she answered, referring to the whines coming from upstairs. She knew way to well than to even remind her that the child had been given a name.

"Get your black ass back in there and clean up, spotless." She turned back around, focusing on the boob-tube again. "Then after that, do the laundry. And when you're done with that get out of my sight and take those to Mr. Jamingston," she pointed to the envelopes by the door.

'Gladly,' she unknowingly whispered under her breath, on her way back to the impossibly-spotless kitchen.

"_**WHAAT!**_" Darla roared, rearing up in her daughter's face. **"**_**YOU WANNA SAY THAT AGAIN BITCH!**_**"** Bits of food landing on her face, but she didn't flinch. Not even blink.

"Nothi—" She was cut off as a hand slapped her face. Her hands broke her fall onto the floor, though her face came dangerously close to hitting it.

"It had better be nothin'!" Darla shot. "And hurry and shut that brat up before I do." Tayoncé's heart stopped for several seconds upon hearing this. Hundreds of images on the many options her dreadful mother could do came into view: dropping her on her head, starving her to death/die of dehydration, smothering/suffocation, dropping her in the neighbors' backyard (they own several savage dogs), burning her, drowning her, freezing her, or leaving her where she started—leaving her outside, dropping her off alone to fend for herself in the world.

Darla smirked at seeing this once again made her daughter quicken her pace. 'Daughter,' she huffed, making her way back to the couch. She despised that word.

*~o~0~o~*

Tayoncé was lucky, something that hasn't happened a lot in her short 15 years of life. Having less than 20 dishes and 5 pots and pans helped. And that Esperanza was a patient and well-trained baby (it seemed) added on to it when she had to do things for Darla. Such as this: washing the dirty dishes.

Tayoncé had ran upstairs, bottle in hand, knowing that the girl was going to be red-faced with hunger. And she was right. Esperanza was yelling her little head off. She had somehow made it halfway from her pallet to the bedroom door; trying to keep her little head up; her mouth struggling to form words. Tayoncé scooped the tiny bundle up and began saying apologies in her small ears, until she was interrupted by her mother: "_What's taking you so fucking long to take these damn letters out?!_"

"I'm getting Esperanza," Tayoncé replied, not realizing she called her by her name. She froze at this realization.

"Alright. Whatever. Just hurry up and get out of here so I can watch my shows. And take the brat with you." For once she didn't sound mad.

Tayoncé was grateful for that. Babybag, bottles, formula, a few clothes, toothbrush and paste, makeup, brush and comb, baby lotion and sunscreen, baby hats and a pair of sunglasses, and Esperanza's favorite toys and teething toys. By then, the basket under the baby's seat was past its rim. She just hoped she could get pasted her mother without her getting suspicious. She didn't have a moment to lose. After making to trips downstairs (one to drag the stroller down the stairs, the other to bring Esperanza downstairs and strap her in), Tayoncé sped the small child out the old, small, cramped apartment as fast as possible. Luck was once again on her side.

"_And don't forget_—letters to Mr. Jamingston." Darla gurgled out between the food in her mouth.

Tayoncé didn't know if her mother heard her laughing (triumphantly) or not. But she didn't stop—she ran as fast as her legs could push the luggage.

With nothing but Esperanza's few belongings, the two pairs of clothes packed up plus the ones on her back, they didn't have much. Already almost three blocks away, too far for the earth-bound-devil to catch up, Tayoncé suddenly remembered the letters in her hand. They were to pay Mr. Jamingston for rent, electricity, water, and etc. It was a lot of money, she was sure. And she knew that Darla's job was hard and frustrating, and that it didn't pay a lot. But she couldn't care less than she already did—and that was less than the size of a grain of sand.

She was so close to freedom.  
So close she could taste it.  
Sweet, sweet, bless-ed freedom.

*~o~0~o~*

Three times a year. That's how many times the school, Joyce William Middle School, had its auditorium open to the public. One: science fair; Two: books and videos exchanges; and Three: anything they decide to come up with that year, whether it was a talent show, or family assembly, or something else big, they always had something.

Tayoncé strolled through the maze of tables. 'Where _is _Mayonna?' she wondered. It's been almost half an hour, but she couldn't find her friend. And she kept feeling like she was being watched. The feeling had been creeping up her back, 'til it tingled the hair on the back of her head. And she took off; sprinting down the temperately aisleways.

"Tayoncé_!_" someone yelled, stopping the girl in her tracks, her wavy ponytail slapping her in her face.

Tayoncé turned. "_Mayonna_," she said with relief. She had begun to think her friend stood her up.

"I thought we were supposed to meet at the fiction/sci-fi section," Mayonna reminded her, she pointed a manicured, pink-polished hand in the direction; her curly blonde ponytail and sky blue skirt swishing with her body movments. She was referring to their shared loved of the impossible. Tayoncé looked around, not realizing she had pasted it. She apologized, telling her she forgot. Mayonna's bright baby-blue eyes looked at her; she completely understood—she had become somewhat of Tayoncé's living diary, telling her what had happened everyday of her life, since they had become comfortable enough to. "That's okay," Mayonna's mother forgave her, jumping in. She gave the poor girl a reassuring smile; it was returned. They all exited the school, on their way to happiness.

.

.

.

.

Or so they thought.

*~o~0~o~*

Less than 4 hours and 37 minutes later (11:45 am; it was 3:08 pm when they left the school. It is almost a week since) Tayoncé was back outside in the world. There were three things different about her: 1:} She was in new clothes (short jean shorts, turquoise slide-in ballet shoes, and a gray V-neck shirt with orange, black, and white sequences); 2:} she didn't have Esperanza with her (she was at the house with Mayonna and her mother); and 3:} she wasn't afraid to see her mother for once in her life. Because she knew that she had somewhere to go, and she was protected. For once she had confidence that something good was going to happen in her life. She believed in happiness, something that had seemed impossible to and for her for so long. But no, here she was, happier, practically skipping down the sidewalk. The joy of freedom almost bursting from her body.

Now—she was supposed to be getting...something from Wal-Mart. _'Ohmigod! I can't remember!' _she thought. She decided to go to a payphone (seeing how she didn't have a cellphone but had some extra change for such an emergency). The store was just two blocks away. She cursed herself for her stupid-forgetfullness.

She looked around. There was none in sight. She kept on walking, looking for one. Until she spotted a single one, partly hidden by a multi-story building, next to a street containing a few homes. She looked down the road—there was no kind of transportation vehicle in sight. Sighing, she walked up to it and held the phone to her ear. Hearing a dial tone, she put in the quarters. After talking with Mayonna's mom, and exchanged a few words with Esperanza and Mayonna herself, she hung up and began walking away, but not before hearing a nearby hiss.

"Pssst! Is—-does your name happen to be Tayoncé Knowles by any chance?" A man and teen girl stepped from behind the building. The man was grown, around 23 or 24 years old it seemed, who was wearing a red and blue-black suit with a tall metal hat of some sort. The girl, around 18 was wearing an odd-looking dress, with a tall hat to match, and she had red hair. They both were Caucasian; their hair styled in a similar way that it was sticking up in the front—though the man had black hair, and the girl had a small curl under the small tower of hair.

"W-who wants to know?" Tayoncé asked, then realizing that they wanted to, she instead said: "W-w-why? What do you want?"

"So…are you Tayoncé..?" the girl asked.

"…..Yeah. Yeah, so what?" she shrugged. SHe tried to not appear nervous.

"Oh, good," the man sighed. "We need you to come with us," he began holding out his hand, but Tayoncé shrinked away. The man looked slightly hurt, pulling his rejected arm back.

"Why..?" Tayoncé asked cautiously.

"Because you're in danger!" the red-head said, moving her arms in exasperation.

Tayoncé looked at them just as they looked to her: crazy and weird. "Of what?" she smiled then laughed sarcastically. "I'm not in danger anymore. I'm safe from—-" Tayoncé caught herself before she said anything else, giving away anymore information to these strangers. What if they were with her mom? She wasn't going to be anywhere near that prison again, not if she could help it. _'But then again, Darla is racist. She wouldn't go near Caucasians_,_' _Tayoncé thought in realization. She looked back at them, and she could've sworn they were looking at her with sympathy and pity, but it was wiped away quickly: by a determined look on the man's face and a shocked/terrified look on the red-headed girl.

The girl tapped the man on the shoulder and pointed at something behind Tayoncé. But before Tayoncé could turn around and look, the duo was pushing her (practically carrying and running) somewhere behind the building.

It was all a blur; one second Tayoncé had somehow managed to peer behind her, and saw Darla. The next, she was bucking as fast as her tired legs could carry her.

Darla. _She had seen Darla! _The devil-prison-ward herself! _'No, NO! Not when I've barely lived!' _It was several moments before she realized she was running down an alleyway. Her stressed heart kicked up several notches as she ran faster, it case someone decided to come down there.

_**'CLUNK!' **_She ran into something, _hard_, knocking her backwards several footsteps. It felt like…metal..? She looked up, and there before her, was a dead end. Her heart stopped (as long as it could, and to not have her die). Panting and hurried footsteps came into hearing range behind her, making Tayoncé's heart (and spirit) drop, as low as inhumanly possible. Fatigue, exhaustion, and hunger hit her suddenly, and oh-so-forcefully, causing her to become extremely dizzy and weak.

The footsteps stopped. She knew she was defeated—there was no way she could defend herself against Darla in this condition. She slumped to the ground and prepared herself for the painful impact. She waited. And waited. But surprisingly, it didn't come. She dared to turn around, and was met by the two strangers gasping for breath.

"We…need…to get her…in the time—" The man began, in between gulps, but the red-head interrupted: "No…we can't…we'll be—-"

"—-She's already seen it…!" He shot back throwing his arm in Tayoncé's direction.

_'What are they talking—-'_ she wondered, but automatically answered her own question as she looked in front of her (she had been gazing up at the wall). There, in plain daylight (and metal) was a vehicle unlike any other she'd ever seen—it was red and white, designed similar like an airplane, about the size of an average car. Her mouth couldn't help but drop in awe.

Suddenly the debate stopped. Tayoncé turned her head, only to see the horrid and shocked expressions on both of their faces as they literally picked her up and put her in.

"What the—-" Tayoncé tried protesting.

"She's coming!" Was all the red-head needed to shriek before Tayoncé heard it—footsteps. And they could belong to only one person—"Darla," her throat rasped out in a whisper. The red-head nodded to Tayoncé in response. "Hurry up!" She called to the man as he scrambled around to the driver's seat.

"Ok! I'm coming!" He yelled back as he jumped in at the last minute, as they all saw the older black woman panting at the end of the alleyway. Raging brown eyes met frantic green(the red-head), fellow brown(the man), and almost black(Tayoncé). Tayoncé had never seen her so angry, and it shook her with terror. Tayoncé knew if Darla had anything in her possession, she would be throwing it at them at full speed.

The man quickly pressed buttons and pulled levers; the vehicle began to rise off the ground. Tayoncé looked around still shocked, then the red-head screamed and pointed at Darla. And in her hands, aiming up at them, was a gun.

_**BAM!**_

_**BANG!**_

_**BLAM!**_

A glass shield surrounded them just in time, as the bullets bounced off. The girl's eyes grew wide as they scurried to seats and scrapped themselves in; the man tried to make Darla's aiming difficult as he gained altitude: swirving the vehicle left and right.

Tayoncé didn't care if she was in a weird flying vehicle with complete strangers. If they were willing to save her from the goblin down below, then she guessed she could trust them.

Small town buildings, the alleyway, Darla roughly the size of a dime was the last she saw before multiple colors surrounded them, and was replaced by a large, bright and colorful, futuristic city.

"Wow!" Tayoncé unknowingly whispered.

The man looked in the rearview mirror and smiled at the young African-American girl. "Welcome to Todayland. Year 2040."

* * *

**Okay, finally done! Willy is going to be in the next chapter (for all of you who are wondering why he's not in this one). This 1st chapter is supposed to kinda explain Tayoncé and her life, so please don't get upset.**

**{ First lyrics: _"Ordinary Day"_ by Vanessa Carlton. Second set of lyrics: _"Complicated" _by Avril Lavigne. }**

**Now that Tay is in the future, what do you all thing should happen while she's meeting the family, and how should her and Wilbur should meet each other? I am open to _any_ suggestions.**

**Please Reviews and/or Private Message, any time. **Cookies for reviews!****

**I will upload as soon as I get at least three reviews. _...Please?_**

**-~Onyxx** ;D**


	2. Fly By the Wayside Part 1

I'm _so so so ssooooooooooooo sorry_ that I hadn't uploaded sooner. School had started back up again, so there's been _tons_ of homework. Plus I've been trying to get these other fics uploaded as well.

So... PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!

While typing this, I realized this chapter was going to be really long, so I split it in two. Well anyway, here's the first part, the second will be uploaded A.S.A.P.:

* * *

**#2 : 1/2 ~ Fly By The Wayside**

"_So cool and crazy and wild and upside down._

I'm bored, and that's not fun.  
I wanna get away,  
But I'm too tired to run.  
I'm gonna find a place where there are no rules,  
and the world is wild.  
I have the tools to make things happen.  
And the reaction will explode.

The lights go off, the world flips upside down,  
I brought the party to town.  
My deal to make, my chance to take.  
So take a ride, fly by the wayside.  
Fly by the wayside!"

"It's _beautiful_."

"Your gonna like it here," the man confirmed.

"Yes it is," the red-head agreed. "So, by the way, I'm Tallulah, and this is my uncle, Gaston," she introduced.

Below was a city unlike any other: full of bright colors, rapidly moving odd formations, and for some reason, bubbles.

Tayoncé wowed in amazement.

"Yeah it's pretty," Tallulah agreed, "Now, on to the orphanage!"

"WHAAT! _NO!_" Tayoncé yelled at her, making her jump. "I-I'm not going there! I already have a place to go!"

"I'm sorry Tayoncé," Tallulah said, "but you have to—-"

"_No_, I _don't_. If I _have _to go _any_where, it'd be back there with Mayonna _and _her mom," Tayoncé shot.

Tallulah looked at Gaston. "I'm sorry but neither of them are here any—"

"What do you mean '_not here_'! They're at their house back there—-i-i-in-in-in.." She was starting to get worried. Tallulah looked at the younger girl with sympathy. "What's going o—"

"Do you smell that?" Gaston asked and began sniffing the air, interrupting Tayoncé. Tallulah opened her mouth to answer but was shut up by "That's not good" from Gaston, looking frantic. He was looking at some kind of meter. "We're running out of fuel!" he declared, showing both girls the meter but pulling it away too fast for them to read it.

"What?" Tayoncé and Tallulah asked in astonishment.

"But I have to go bac—" Tayoncé tried again.

"We have to take this back to the house to recharge," he said more to Tallulah then to Tayoncé.

Neither of the girls could put any more say in, as the time machine was racing away at full speed.

*~o~0~o~*

They parked somewhere along the outside of the house. The duo (literally) dragged Tayoncé out the time machine, almost paralyzed with shock and fear as they led her to a huge door, which she guessed was the garage, seeing how there were other similar vehicles inside. She barely caught Tallulah murmured to her uncle: "Now I hope that extra room is available."

The fatigue began catching up with her. She closed her eyes, the sun and sleepiness giving her headache. Tayoncé walked over and sat in a chair, and rested her aching head on the table, cushioned by her folded arms. She barely noticed the papers and odd tools lying, scattered, across the surface. The last thing she saw was Gaston and Tallulah, a little way off, debating with each other, obviously trying not to let Tayoncé hear. And then that was gone.

"_Come here!__" She yelled again._

_Her stomach cringed and sunk on cue. Despite the little one smiling up at her, the small bit of happiness vanished from her spirit. She plugged the small one's mouth with a pacifier and placed her in the girl's cot (which was luckily surrounded with pillows, blankets, sweaters, and etc. Anything as a barrier). She scurried down the rickety stairs, hoping they wouldn't give away under her._

"_Yes ma'am," her voice cracked against her will as she entered the room, greeting the obviously steaming(angrily) woman tapping her (house shoe) slipper-covered foot on the floor impatiently. As a matter of fact, she was never patient._

"_What the… What is this?" The woman asked, her eyes not meeting the girl in front of her. She was vaguely trying to hold in her anger._

"_What is wha—?"_

"_Don't act dumb with me! __What the __**HELL**__ is this!" The question sounded more like a statement as her dark eyes darted to the girl. She was holding up a piece of clothing._

"_You're scarf…" The girl answered faintly. Her defense didn't seem to help. The woman's temper increased. "You said I could wear it to school so I could cover up the—"_

"_I said nothing about you using __anything__ of mine," she stated coldly. "You know good and well—-"_

"_Yes you did. I asked you before I left yesterday," she defended._

"_Don't you tell me what I did and don't do!__" The girl earned a bellow close to her ear, making her ears hurt, but she didn't dare even raise her palm. "Now what is this—I'm out of milk, eggs, cereal, and almost out of bread and liquor. Now why didn't you 'ask me _'_bout that yesterday before you left'?" She mocked her daughter. "__And this?__That little pain in the ass pissed on my carpet!__" She asked lifting up a foot to show the faint stain. Tayoncé refused the urge to correct her that it was spit-up._

_The girl didn't say anything. Well, she couldn't because at that moment a wire connected with her side. Biting her lip, she refused to scream. She looked up into the woman's dark eyes. Brown emptiness. No pity. Hatred. That's all she has ever seen in those eyes. No other emotion ever showed, except when she had her daughter at her feet in pain. Pain that she caused. That's when she ever seemed happy._

'_Tayoncé….'_

_She heard a faint whisper._

"_Tayoncé... __Tayoncé__. _TAYONCÉ!" The voice got louder until she jolted upward. Her sight met green eyes. "Are you alright?" Tallulah's voice was a dramatic change from the woman's that had invaded her dreams. But a good change. And Tayoncé was thankful for that.

"Are you alright?" She repeated. They both noticed that Tayoncé was holding her side with her opposite arm. She wasn't hurting, it was just the shock of the dream was still wavering away.

"Y-yeah. I'm..ok."

"You sure? You don't seem like it…" Tallulah pressed.

"I'm sure." Tallulah went quiet. Tayoncé guessed she said it too forcefully. "I'm sorry…"

"Oh don't worry 'bout it," Tallulah rubbed it off. "You got to get inside right now," she said changing the subject, and taking the black girl's wrist pulling her to another large door. Tayoncé knew this place was going to be interesting, one way or another. A thought flashed thru her mind: _'What if I lived here? What if they adopted me or something?'_ But that was ridiculous. That would never happen, she convinced herself. She was just here so that machine could recharge, and then they would take her home.

Right?

As soon as she stepped through the door, her voice leapt from her throat and ran away. It was the most biggest, most gorgeous, the very most perfect place she has ever been to in her short 15 years of life. It was a place you would only see in a dream. She touched the wall, just to make sure she wasn't still dreaming. (She couldn't feel in her dreams.) Oh Lord! It was real!

Tallulah pulled her forward, wrenching her finger away from the colorful wall and down a hallway. The walls were a bright, but not too-bright-yellow, with orange spots.

Tayoncé's stomach knotted as she saw Tallulah peeking around each corner like a spy. Was she not supposed to be here? What if she was caught! She doesn't know these people. She began worrying about the ethnicity factor: what if they were racist? What was she going to do then?

Her train of thought was broken as the sound of something splattering shattered the silence. Tallulah and Tayoncé slowly turned around. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest, but when she looked…she didn't see anything—except a shadow. Looking up, she followed Tallulah's furious gaze, and landed on a man, maybe two or three years older than Tallulah, wearing a…jetpack_(?)_ and holding some sort of gun.

He snickered. The gun was pointed lower. Tallulah still didn't notice Tayoncé's eyes grow bigger as she yelled at him. Nor did she see the girl sprint around the corner and out of sight (and Tayoncé didn't paying enough attention to get his name). Tayoncé didn't notice the form she was running into until it was too late. She crashed and was sent flying to the floor. Looking up and saw an old woman with pink hair and glasses staring back down at her.

"Oh are you alright hon?" She reached out a hand, but the girl shrinked away in reflex. The woman looked hurt; she saw fear in Tayoncé's eyes. "I'm sorry; I must've hit you pretty hard. Let's get you some ice for that, deary," she tried again. This time Tayoncé didn't move away—she let the lady help her up and take her along. She tried processing the information she had just gotten:

1) she was saved by two strangers named Tallulah and Gaston in some kind of weird flying machine-thingy.

2) The machine was about to run out of fuel in mid-air, so they went to Tallulah and Gaston's house to recharge it.

3) Tallulah was sneaking her into her house, but was caught by a man with a gun.

4) Tayoncé is now being taken by an old woman to get some ice. And there might be more people here. So she needed to watch her back.

For some reason this didn't all add up.

"So are you a friend of Tallulah's?" The woman asked, trying to make small talk.

Tayoncé thought about her answer for a moment. "Y-yes…"

"Ooo! Is this the first time she's brought you over?" Again she answered yes. After letting Tayoncé know to call her Grandma Lucille and continued talking a little (Lucille did most of the talking) while walking down a surprisingly long hallway, they stopped at a large purple door. Loud music could be heard from inside. And sure enough, when Lucille opened the door music blared in their face—by frogs!

"Hi Lucille," a woman in a blue and white dress greeted, looking over her shoulder but still conducting to the small amphibians. "Oh! Hello," she noticed Tayoncé and stopped the mini band.

"This is a friend of Tallulah's," Grandma Lucille introduced. "It's her first time here."

"Oh! (when Lucille introduced her) Oh…," she commented when Lucille explained it was her first time at the house. The lady had an expression that read something like: 'Oh boy, she's in for it!' "Hi, you can call me Franny," she openly hugged Tayoncé. This made the girl stiffen and gasp in surprise—-she'd never been hugged like that before, not even by her friends. It was an embrace she'd only dreamed of. "I'm sorry," Franny apologized, pulling away.

"It's alright," Tayoncé answered. She pushed a strand from her bang of her light brown hair out of her face. Franny invited them to stay and watch Frankie (her star pupil) and the Frogs sing. To the girl, it was an awesome thing to heard and see—animals actually talking! It blew your mind. It wasn't until the song was over did Tayoncé realize that more people had joined in the music and were dancing a little. She just stayed at her spot by the wall as they congratulated Franny on her work with the frogs, completely oblivious to the silent African-American girl. Suddenly they turned on her, all spilling greetings at once. But because of the lack of from her life, Tayoncé took this to offence, her eyes growing large with fear and on the verge of screaming.

She swallowed. _'These people aren't going to hurt you too_,_'_ she convinced herself. _'Why would they be this nice if they were just going to hurt you? But what about that one with the gun..?'_She argued with herself. _'Don't worry about that now. Be nice, be polite. See if that will help.' _And with that, she put on her best smile and waved to all of them. (Two elders, a robot, and Franny. And yet, these were more people than she was used to talking to her at one time.)

"Wow, you're pretty. What's your name?" The old man asked her suddenly. He must have some disorder or something, because he had all of his clothes, except his shoes, on backwards.

"T-Tayoncé…"

"That's a pretty name," he complimented. He then re-introduced Grandma Lucille and Franny. The only new one was the robot, who apparently, was named Carl. He shocked her even more when the bucket of bolts spoke directly to her, as if like it was a real person. After complimenting Franny again, the old man proceeded to drag Tayoncé out and introduce her to the rest of the family(!), while Lucille went to make some treats.

The first place they went was to see the family dog, Buster, who wore glasses because his insurance won't pay for contacts. Which was probably better for the dog. _'Since when do dogs need insurance?_'

Then it all spiraled outwards from there—Bud dragged her all over the over-sized house.

She had seen a man wearing a superhero spacesuit. "Is he a superhero?" A flying saucer-type spaceship came into view, "An astronaut?" she asked

Then they overheard the man talking about making a trip to another planet...to deliver a pizza. "Nope. He's an intergalactic pizza delivery man," Bud filled in.

Next, the old man took her to see his two brothers, Joe—an overweight man who is confided to a wheelchair he never leaves—, and Fritz—a frantic looking old man. She met Joe's Russian wife, Billie, who favors locomotives—at how she was also wearing a jean dress, and a train-conductor's hat and black gloves. Tayoncé found out where Gaston had gone: he was racing Billie's (life-sized)'toy train' against his life-sized canon, which he shot _himself _out of.

Bud then introduced Tayoncé to Petunia, Fritz's (puppet-)wife, who continuously talked negative and backlashed (by talking) any and everyone. Tallulah was arguing with the man with the gun, who was apparently her brother, Laszlo. The two of them were Petunia and Fritz's kids.

Bud had just enough time to show Tayoncé a door that had a 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign on it before Lucille called them. "And this is where Cornelius works on his inventions."

"Who's Cornelius?" Tayoncé asked.

"Me and Lucille's son. He's married to Franny."

"_Bud!_" It was Lucille, but her voice seemed to be coming from somewhere with an echo.

"Yes Lucille?" Bud answered his wife. He spoke thru something like an intercom in the wall, which, Tayoncé guessed, is why her voice sounded so close and echo-y.

"_Will you bring that sweet girl, ...Tanya, I think, down here to the kitchen? I want to ask her if she would like to help me make dessert._"

Bud turned to Tayoncé. "Well, would'ja?"

Tayoncé had to think it over. "I would like to, but I should be getting hom—"

"She said yes," Bud called back to his wife before Tayoncé could finish her sentence. She looked terrified. She knew it had to be getting dark by now and she needed to be getting back to her new home—with Mayonna, her mom, and Esperanza. If she didn't, she knew Darla was going to report to someone about them getting 'kidnapped,' then she and Esperanza would never get adopted and have a better life.

Well a better life for the baby, because that is really all that Tayoncé really wanted. She focused so hard on school so that she would graduate—hopefully skip a grade or two more—sooner, so she could move out sooner. And maybe adopt Esperanza herself. Well, that was the plan before Mayonna's mom decided to adopt them both.

Tayoncé and Bud could hear loud bangs by the time they made it down the endless stairs. "How many levels does is this house have," she had asked him.

"I'm not sure. About three of four, I think." Bud had responded. Just the meare thought made her more exhausted.

The commotion was coming from the kitchen, they realized, as Lucille poked her pink head from around the corner. "In here!" she said in a sing-song voice.

"Mrs. Lucille?" Tayoncé asked on her own, for the first time since she'd been here. "Are you alright?" A pot bounced out the room.

Bud and his wife looked at her, almost shocked. "Yes deary," Lucille quickly wiped the expression from both of their faces, "but I could use some help though." Tayoncé agreed to help the older woman. And soon Lucille had her baking cookies alongside her.

After the first batches of dough were put into the three ovens, Lucille had walked off, saying she would "be back in a little bit."

Now its been more than a little bit. Almost half an hour later. Tayoncé had gotten up from her place on the floor and had taken the cookies out a few minutes ago; they had cooled off by now. And Lucille still wasn't back yet.

Tayoncé decided it wouldn't be bad to take one or two. She did help make them-from scratch too.

She picked up one from the pan. Biting into it, it was crunchy with a little chewiness in the middle—just the way she liked it; and it had chocolate chips _literally_ in every bite. It was the best she'd ever had. That one chocolaty-goodness was gone sooner than she had liked. She limited herself to two more cookies, but she first wanted milk to go with it. She searched the multiple cabinets for a glass before giving up—this kitchen was almost as big as a regular-sized kitchen and dining room combined, if not larger.

Tayoncé settled for a small bowl instead and poured some of the white liquid inside. She noticed the cookie tasted different when she dipped it in the milk. She took a sip of it by itself, and had to lean in the doorway so she wouldn't double-over and spill what was left in the bowl.

It tasted _horrible.!._ But she couldn't let it go to waste. Tayoncé ate the remaining one and a half cookie before chugging down the weird-tasting liquid. Instead, the bowl flew from her hands as (yet another) force rammed into her. She stared at the ceiling from her back.

"Are you okay?"

* * *

{Lyrics: "_Fly By The Wayside_" by Skye Sweetnam.}

Part 2 will be uploaded as soon as possible.

**It wouldn't hurt to review.**


	3. Fly By the Wayside Part 2

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS!

I planned on finishing this up sooner and posting it, but when I had logged on I realized I had deleted it by accident. I was so pissed that I just let go of it for a while and to work on my other fics. Eventually I just forced myself to re-type it, as you see now.

Sorry for the long wait.

Also, I like to imagine Tallulah with an _actual_ _woman's_ voice.

* * *

**#2 : 2/2~ Fly By The Wayside**

"_So cool and crazy and wild and upside down._

I'm bored, and that's not fun.  
I wanna get away,  
But I'm too tired to run.  
I'm gonna find a place where there are no rules,  
and the world is wild.  
I have the tools to make things happen.  
And the reaction will explode.

The lights go off, the world flips upside down,  
I brought the party to town.  
My deal to make, my chance to take.  
So take a ride, fly by the wayside.  
Fly by the wayside!"

"Are you okay?"

She looked up into metallic-blue orbs.

"..." Her mouth moved in silent attempts of trying to remember the name.

"Carl," he helped. "Have you seen a guy with black hair—"

"There's Gaston; I think he's still racing Billie—"

"—About ye tall," He held out a metal arm to his side. It was shorter than him, so it was definitely _not_ Gaston.

"Um, no," she didn't think there were any more people here—there already seemed like a lot went on already. Carl seemed to be using one of his gadgets, then he suddenly took off—fast for a robot. He disappeared around a corner. Tayoncé turned around just in time to see the boy Carl was supposedly talking about skid from around the corner. He was wearing a dark blue shirt and black skinny jeans. He had to skid to a stop upon realizing he had pasted a person.

"Hey—have you seen Carl?"

Tayoncé pointed in the direction she saw the walking golden metal go.

He thanked her, in just reflex. Tayoncé shrugged her shoulders and he too ran around the corner. She shuffled her feet back towards the kitchen and was about to wash the bowl when she heard a voice:

"How did you get here?" It was the boy again—he must have realized she was new here and retraced his steps back. He was currently looking at her, expression full of curiosity and confusion as he leaned against the door frame.

Tayoncé thought about her answer. "I'm a friend of Tallulah's."

"This your first time here?"

"Yeah."

His face widened. "Oo boy."

_'Why does everyone keep asking that? Is there something here that I don't know about?'_ she wondered. "What?"

"Nothing. Who have you met and what do you know?"

This just confirmed Tayoncé's suspensions. She raised an eyebrow.

"'Nothing." The boy said. "...You don't know where stuff is do you?"

"No... Why..?"

"Well of one: you're using a bowl instead of a cup," he hinted at the white liquid still inside, "when the glasses are in the next cabinet." Tayoncé looked dumbly inside to check, then back at the guy quizzingly. He chuckled, told her to leave it in the sink then grabbed her wrist without any further objection.

*~o~0~o~*

"Gaston! Uncle Gaston! Where is she?"

Gaston turned away from the giant cannon and towards his niece. "Where is 'who'?" Tallulah glared up at him as a mental-lightbulb went off. "I thought she was with you." he questioned, getting worried.

"No! Oh god, _you lost her_—?"

"—_Me_?"

"—_We_ lost her? How can you lose a _girl_!"

"Me?—When I left she was with _you_!"

"_DINNER WILL BE READY IN 5 MINUTES!_" Franny called from the intercoms.

Tallulah and Gaston looked at each other in shock. "Oh. _No_."

*~o~0~o~*

With the guy, who said his name was Wilbur, practically dragged her around, it was a while until Tayoncé saw anything remotely normal: the house's front door. He had dragged her all around the house, showing her this and that, from bouncing patches of grass to the entertainment room; honestly, she hardly paid attention as her headache and fatigue seemed to increase.

"Hey! T..Tayoncé right? You ok?"

"Mm-hm." She was leaning against the leg of a giant dino-shaped bush. "G-go on without me; I'll be fine," she waved her arm lazily away.

Wilbur opened his mouth and began to say something else but was cut off by the intercom: "_EVERYONE COME FOR DINNER!_"

Wilbur's mouth snapped shut as Tayoncé's head shot up."Oh no," she whispered, looking up to the darkening sky. "I-I gotta—-Where's ..Tallulah and Gaston?"

"Probably in the dining room, and probably with Aunt Billie if not also." He looked at her shocked face toward the sky. "Why do you—-"

"—-How do you get inside?"

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, watching her leaned over her knees breathing heavily.

She snapped her head upward and stood up. "Y-yeah. I'm all good," she lied, covering it up with a forced smile.

Wilbur looked at her for a few seconds before answering. He motioned for her to follow.  
"You're not from around here are you?" he asked as he raised his hand; their steps sounded in sync on the porch steps.

"_Hey! Ring my doorbell!_"

A yelp escaped Tayoncé's throat as she jumped about 3 feet in the air in shock from the head popping out of the plant pot by the door, similar (if not exactly like) to a jack-in-the-box.

"_No! Ring mine!_" An identical head exclaimed, making the girl shriek and jump 3 more feet.

Wilbur chuckled. "That's—-" he stopped as a large mauve-colored creature swung the giant door open. Its one eye landed directly on the black girl.

Not wasting any time, Tayoncé turned tail and fled for her life, she thought.

"Woah! Where're you—-" Wilbur reached for her hand, but failed as his reflexes weren't as quick. She made it halfway down the long driveway before he caught up with her. Grabbing her shoulders, he clumsily attempted to turning her around, only to get whacked in the face.

Tayoncé flailed her arms blindly around in an attempt to repel the mauve-monster or whatever creature that lived in this time was restraining her from moving. She heard it shriek "ow", or more like spoke it.

"_What are you doing_?" Wilbur questioned, grabbing her wrists. Tayoncé's eyes flew open; she stared at him with big eyes, her mouth dropped open.  
"What are you so scared of?"

Her head fell. How could she tell him that she shouldn't be in this time? How can she even begin to even try to describe what she's dealt with all her life, and why she's in such a rush it be to her new home?  
Why _not_ tell him?

Her mouth gaped open and closed like a fish, looking for the words to say. He raised an eyebrow in suspicion.  
Wilbur was on the verge of burdening her with yet another complicated question when Franny called:

"Kids. Inside—_now!_" She stood in the doorway, hands folded across her chest

He gave one last worried look her way. Tayoncé ignored it, pushing her way past him and towards Franny.

*~o~0~o~*

Huge wouldn't even cover it, to her. The table alone would've taken about two whole rooms to fill, but the room itself...

Tayoncé couldn't keep her jaw from dropping when she walked into the dining room. Franny just smiled at the younger girl, then offered the seat between her and Tallulah. And as if on cue, the red-headed girl walked in, immediately giving the black girl an aggravated stare. Tayoncé looked down in shame.

"Take her and sit her next to you," Franny asked.  
Forcing a smile, the red-head obeyed, more than happy to take the girl off her hands.

Steering the black girl away, Tallulah hissed "_where have you been_?"

"_I didn't have a choice_," she whispered back in defense, "_after Lucille, they just started popping up everywhere and dragging me places_."  
Tallulah ushered her into a seat. The room was filled with chatter. The Robinsons barely seemed noticed their guest at the table, all except the 3—Gaston, Tallulah, and Wilbur, who kept eyeing her as if she had a history of stealing and was just let back into a jewelry store.

Tayoncé looked down at the plate of salad. She wasn't going to eat anything else from here—if something as simple as milk lost its taste, then the salad shouldn't be any better.

"Sorry I'm late."

Tayoncé looked up from her plate. A man came rushing in. His clothes were covered in soot and dirt; he fixed his obscured glasses, leaving his hair to stand on end at an odd angle. He gave Franny a quick kiss on the forehead before sitting down, only to spring back up and rush into another room. He came back a few seconds later, he appeared to have cleaned himself up a bit. He as well as the others began eating and chatting, totally ignoring the African-American quietly slumped in her seat.

"Aren't you gonna eat?" Franny eyed the girl, almost suspiciously. All the plates were at least partly empty and were being taken up by mini Carl robots.

Tayoncé stared in amazement. Franny cleared her throat. Remembering her question, she gulped, and then opened her mouth to speak. No words came out.

"She's not a big salad-eater," Tallulah answered as if it was no big deal. She forked a mouth-full of lasagna into her mouth.

Tayoncé snuck a glance at the woman; she turned her suspicious eyes away and began chatting with the blonde man beside her.

The bowl clattered in front of her. She merely stared at it, her stomach doing unfamiliar twists.

"_No more than today_," she heard Gaston hiss at his younger cousin. "_We have to leave. A.s.a.p._"

"_You don't think I know that_?" Tallulah almost shouted back.

"So how long you've known..this girl," their uncle Art asked Wilbur, distracting him from Gaston and Tallulah's quarrel. "...What's her name...?"

"Tayoncé," he answered impatiently. He strained his ears to find out why they wanted Tayoncé away so badly. As far as he knew, she hadn't hurt anyone, and was totally innocent.

Art studied his nephew: food going down his tunnel by the forklift, eyes focused intensely at the target in front of him. (Which happened to be at Tayoncé) As if he was in an eating contest.

"She's pretty, huh?"

Lasagna clogged in his throat. He just met the girl—she was decent looking, despite the few healing bruises on her neck and cheek, and the small bit of acne across her nose and cheeks—but the thought never crossed his mind on that she was _pretty_.

"_Whatt?_" Wilbur barely hacked up the words between bits of pasta, meat, and tomato sauce.

Tayoncé jumped at an unfamiliar voice. It belonged to the blonde man who had his hand outstretched behind his wife. He introduced himself as she shook it; vise versa.

"You should try some of this Little Missy," Bud blurted. Almost every eye turned to the black girl. "It's the best stuff around."

All were looks of anticipation. Despite three: Gaston mouth was open; Wilbur glanced at his relatives and Tayoncé surprised, as if saying "what?"; Tayoncé knew Tallulah was thinking like "go on. You got yourself into it."

The bowl of food was pleasing. The smell: amazing. Back with Darla, this would have been a rare treat, like a delicacy. And now that she thought about it, she hadn't had it at Mayonna's house yet. They were going to have tacos. Lasagna was going to be tomorrow night.

The pressure was too much. All eyes on her. When had eating food become so complicated?

She lifted the fork to her mouth. The taste was unbelievable; it was one of the best things she'd ever tasted, and she couldn't keep quiet the blurt of praise. Without hesitation, she began lifting fork-full after fork-full of the pasta into her mouth.

Contempt, the family turned away. Except Tallulah, who kept eyeballing her at the corner of her mascara eye.

The girl began looking like she'd hadn't eaten in months—she began gulping down cheek-fulls of meat, looking like she might choke if she didn't slow down.

And _none _of the other members noticed.

Fullness hit her like a rock. Stuffed would describe it more. Tayoncé didn't feel like she had a stomach anymore—gone was the aching, shriveled balloon and in its place was a heavy sack.

But there was still food in the bowl, maybe one more fork-full. And like a child when their eyes got too big, hers got larger than her stomach, despite her last effort to squeezing that bit into her internal pocket.

She had just gotten it twirled around the utensil's teeth when it started.

Tayoncé sprinted from the table, knocking over her chair in the process, and headed to a bathroom.

The whole room went quiet. And then a muffled sound made its way into their hearing range.

"What the hell?" Petunia blurted.

*~o~0~o~*

Tayoncé erupted violently into the toilet.

"Damn." She gulped down a few breaths before sticking her head down the bowl once again.

She heard the door open and did the best she could to stifle the sound. But it still came out horrid.

"Are you alright?" Franny's face wrinkled as the girl threw more of her dinner up in the toilet.

She could barely get any answers out of the girl, but with her being a mother, she knew what had happened. Her smile from memories of her own child's eyes getting big on several occasions shriveled as Tayoncé hacked up more meat and sauce.

She was reduced to rubbing her back as comfort.

*~o~0~o~*

She looked like she just got her butt kicked, groaning in pain at her once again empty belly.

But the family had all left, doing whatever they had left off at before dinner.

Franny asked Tayoncé if she wanted to eat. She didn't like the idea of leaving the girl with an empty stomach. But the girl just waved it off, and requested to see Tallulah.

After searching about one-fourth of the humungous house including directions from others, they finally came to one of the rooms, dubbed the Racing Room. Gaston and Tallulah were arguing in front of his cannon. A woman wearing a dress with boots and a train conductor's hat, was investigating an almost-life-sized train.

Franny walked away, her mission accomplished; Tayoncé stalked up to the two gone alfalfas.

"I need to go home. Now," Tayoncé told they for the umpteenth time that day.

The two Robinsons exchanged worried glances.

"Home...—-?"

"Yes, _home_," Tayoncé said sternly, surprising the Robinsons as well as herself. "Drive me back there—back in time—'n take me home."

Tallulah tweedled her fingers nervously, like a child caught in the act of lying. "Um, Tayoncé... ...There's...you see... You... ...You don't really have a home..." Tayoncé's face instantly changed, she looked at her as if she had gone crazy. "You're an orphan."

"What—-?"

"Look," Gaston butted in, "we had saved your life. But know we have to take you to this orphanage, like Tallulah said: because you're an orphan." He surprised both of them by how stern he said that.

Tayoncé's look didn't change as she turned it to Gaston.

Wilbur couldn't stand just listening anymore; he had to see their faces. He stuck his head around the corner: he could only see his uncle's and cousin's nervous and almost sad faces, with a bit of stern on Gaston's part. Tayoncé's back was to him so he couldn't see hers.

Tayoncé shot them another totally-confused question.

Then Tallulah turned sad eyes to her, and said something that twisted her face altogether.

"Mayonna, her mother, everyone who was living there..."

She took in a deep breath.

"Tayoncé... they're dead."

* * *

{Lyrics: "_Fly By The Wayside_" by Skye Sweetnam.}

Again, so sorry for the long wait. Hope you all liked it. But please keep reviewing! It makes even the worst of days a little brighter and encourages me to write more :)

**~_Onyxx**_**


	4. Over My Head

_"I never knew,_  
_I never that everything was falling thru;_  
_That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue_  
_To turn and run,_  
_When all I needed was the truth..."_

_Recap.:._

_"I need to go home. __**Now**__," Tayoncé told they for the umpteenth time that day._

_The two Robinsons exchanged worried glances._

_"Home...—-?"_

_"Yes, home," Tayoncé said sternly, surprising the Robinsons as well as herself at how stern she sounded. "Drive me back there-back in time-'nd take me home."_

_Tallulah tweedled her fingers nervously, like a child caught in the act of lying. "Um, Tayoncé... ...There's... You see... You... ...You don't really..have a home..." Tayoncé's face instantly changed, she looked at Tallulah as if she had gone crazy. "You're an orphan."_

_"What—-?"_

_"Look," Gaston butted in, "It was a life-or-death situation, and we had saved your life. But now we have to take you to the orphanage, like Tallulah said: because you're an orphan." He surprised both of them by how stern had he said that._

_Tayoncé's look didn't change as she turned it to Gaston._

_Wilbur couldn't stand just listening anymore, he had to see their faces. He stuck his head around the corner: he could only see his uncle's and cousin's nervous and almost sad faces, with a bit of stern from Gaston's part. Tayoncé's back was to him so he couldn't see hers._

_Tayoncé shot them another totally-confused question._

_Then Tallulah turned sad eyes to her, and said something that twisted her face altogether.__  
__"Mayonna, her mother, everyone who was living there..."_

_Tallulah took in a deep breath._

_"Tayoncé... they're dead."_

_... ... ..._

_(End Recap)_

_'What?'_

She couldn't move. Her whole body seemed to be frozen in place; her throat felt completely dry of all moister, aching like sand.

Her body froze.

She spoke. No words came out—her throat was as dry as cotton; she swallowed again roughly.

Her feet felt rooted in the ground.

She opened her mouth. This time, words came out. "W... W-what...?"

"Look I'm very sorry Tayoncé," Tallulah said sincerely, "but there was no other way..."

Tayoncé's vision swam. Her body felt to be tilting once.

Gaston butted in. "It was either you or them..." He thought about his answer. "Not to be rude or anything..but... We _had to—_it's our...job..."

Wilbur's mouth hung open. This shock, this deep secret that his cousins have been hiding for years, and _no one_ had known. And what '_job_'? For all he knew, Gaston hadn't had one since college, and Tallulah had barely had one since she's been in high school, and this is her last year.

The whole house seemed to have stopped what they were doing to listen on the three, though they were talking just above a loud whisper. could hardly be heard over the train's engine. Even Billie had paused to look over cautiously before turning back towards her train.

"What..." Tayoncé didn't even hear herself utter the word. She continued looking down at her feet.

Tallulah looked at her uncle. This was becoming too intense, she whispered to him. It didn't feel right, like they were stealing.

He shot a look at her. _You just thought of that?_ he seemed to say.

Tallulah flinched. Gaston had never been so serious before, at least not at once like this. And she wasn't used to this side of her relative she'd rarely seen.

"..Why...?"

The two turned to the small girl. She seemed to suddenly be interested with her tattered shoes.

"_'Why'_ what?"

Tallulah felt like she had melted as Tayoncé looked up at her. She felt like she was looking at a baby—helpless and innocent. She didn't know what was going on, all she wanted was to be home.

"Why did they die...?" She managed to choke out in a whisper then swallowed the lump in her throat. "What did they do... What...what had went wrong...?"

The two Robinsons blinked. "They didn't do anything wrong, exactly.." they began. Then they saw her eyes begin to water.

"I don't think now's the time to be discussing this.."

"Is everything alright?" Billie asked, concerned. Tallulah almost jumped at suddenly hearing her Aunt behind them.

"Naw, everythin's fine," Wilbur sauntered up, and Billie turned away. "Now why don't you think she should know about her own home?" he turned to Tallulah. He knew he was venturing into dangerous territory by questioning authority.  
He didn't listen to his cousin's warnings either, nor his uncle's annoyed glare. "You don't think she has a right to know about her..past." He smirked toward Tayoncé.

"Wilbur, this is none of your business."

"And you don't think she should know?" Wilbur questioned back, "when it's hers too?"

Gaston sighed. He knew this would happen one day, he just wasn't prepared for it to actually take place. Especially with their most important client.**  
**

*~o~0~o~*

_"But that's how it's got to be, _  
_It's coming down to nothing more than apathy, _  
_I'd rather run the other way than stay and see_  
_The smoke and who's still standing when it clears..._

"It wasn't them, it was a neighbor—a smoker downstairs."

Gaston had indeed lost the argument. After being ganged up by his two younger cousins, plus a teary-eyed Tayoncé, he had to give in. They were going to reveal everything. They were currently inside the garage—Gaston, Tallulah, and Tayoncé—just in case so no one would overhear them and they wouldn't be questioned.

"They had been careless, and didn't put out the cigarette correctly," Tallulah explained. "Not soon after, the whole apartment building had caught on fire." She tried not to look at Tayoncé's horror-stricken face. "It was going to happen the day we had found you. If you had went back, you would have been burned to death that night as well. So you see, we _had_ to do it—for your sake."

Tayoncé was quiet for who knew how long before she uttered a word. "...But... Why me...? Why just me?" She looked up into the Robinsons' eyes. Tears had begun making tracks down her cheeks. "You saved me from Mom with that thing...that time-car-thing..."

Then in a flash, her expression changed for one of total defeat to one of anger. The information began to piece together.

"Y'all said you saved me 'for _my_ sake'..? You have this...th-this—this _time machine_, and you couldn't save anyone else! ? !" the young girl eyed them, throwing an arm in the direction of the parked vehicle, "or even stop them from starting the fire some kind of way? !" She was outraged, yet tears still cascaded down her face. "You say how you want to save people," she then gave a dark chuckle, "but you know what?" She took a large breath then blurted, "_YOU ARE JUST A PAIR OF __COWARDS__! ! !_"

Both Robinsons were speechless. Tayoncé eyed them back and forth, not looking away either. Several minutes passed before someone decided to speak.

"You don't understand...It had to be done."

Tayoncé was just about to call "liar!" but Tallulah continued, still above a whisper.

"The fire was an important event, and if we had stopped it, we would have greatly altered history." Tallulah fixed the girl with a look of sympathy, then took in a long shaky breath. "And you will not be able to go back and fix it. That fire is one of the things that helped shaped today—-uh, I mean, in our time."

Tayoncé could only mouth "what...?", still in shock.

Tallulah continued, "you belong here, in _this_ time, Tayoncé." She just kept looking at Tallulah as if she had lost her mind. She sighed. She didn't think Tayoncé would have understood, not immediately with all this other information she had to take in. So she was going to put it as simple as she could, she told Tayoncé.

"Tayoncé," Tallulah took another breath, "you were kidnapped, when you were really young, from this time and taken to another—the one you're so used to. No, you aren't the only one; there are dozens of others who were also taken. We," she gestured to herself and Gaston, "are apart of this _secret_ company that help to put these people back in their right times, and straighten out history. We don't know exactly who is responsible and are still trying to find the kidnappers, but..." She looked down at her bright-colored designer's shoes.

Gaston could swear that she was about to burst into tears. It just puzzled him, because this would have been the second time Tallulah would have cried since joining (not counting the first couple of times). He took over, in case she actually did start crying.

"But," he picked up where she had left off, "the bottom line is that this is the right time for you, and you can't go back and change it, no matter what." He then added, "I'm sorry."

Tayoncé shook her head. "No... No, I don't believe you." She slowly looked up at them, and the two were shocked to see her expression. It looked as if she wanted to maul them right then and there, her eyes filled with just south of hatred. "You two are l..." She trailed off, her head starting to spin as the info sunk in. "Y-you two are lying. You're liars!" She sucked in the tears that so desperately wanted to be freed. "I don't believe you!"

Gaston huffed. "Okay, I am getting tired of this..."

Tallulah turned to him and watched as he flipped several gears on his hat, surprising both girls as he pulled out photos and documents.

He practically shoved them in Tayoncé's face. "Look," he pointed at a document, "this was filed the day of the fire, stating how it started, how much damage occurred and how many people died."

Tayoncé trembled.

"These are copies of files about those who died. All including your friend and her mother." He seemed to hold no sympathy as he placed two separate papercliped groups of papers.

Tayoncé felt her body freeze again, her body literally growing cold with the sensation of her stomach dropping down and onto the floor.

On the front page of one stack read the name "Mayonna Baldwin. Age: 15. Gender: Female. Nationality: Caucasian American/White." And just beside it was a picture of the young blonde, her bright blue eyes scrunched up in a smile. On the other was her mother, "Jessica Baldwin."

Gaston pulled two more photos from within each stack and pointed at them. Tayoncé didn't even need an explanation of whose charred corps where in each vivid photograph. But he had regardless. Her vision swam, barely catching Gaston's remark of, "these, plus hundred others, were all that were left.

Tayoncé's eyes widened in shock, dropping the pages like hot coal. They hurt to touch, yet her eyes refused to move from the direction of the floor they fell. Her hands flew to grip the sides of her head. Tallulah noted her shallow breathing immediately.

She tapped her uncle on the shoulder for his attention. After the fourth, fifth, then sixth try he looked. But by the time Gaston turned, almost suddenly, towards Tallulah, Tayoncé had already fell to the floor, fainting.

_"Softly we tremble tonight, _  
_picture perfect fading smiles are all that's left in sight, _  
_I said I'd never leave, you'll never change _  
_I'm not satisfied with where I'm at in life._

_Am I supposed to be happy? _  
_With all I ever wanted, it comes with a price. _  
_Am I supposed to be happy? _  
_With all I ever wanted, it comes with a price. _  
_You said, you said that you would die for me..."_

* * *

First and second set of lyrics: "Cable Car (Over My Head)" by The Fray  
Third set of lyrics: "Cat and Mouse" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

I had planned on having this up sooner but I had gotten so sucked in some of my other stories, and then life and school has gotten more busy and complicated, so uploads will not have a set schedule.

And I apologize extremely for such a ridiculous wait. Thanks to _horsin-around100_, _daisysarefluffy_, "me," and all you others who have reviewed.

And always, ideas and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated (and I am asking for!)


	5. The Light In Her Eyes

**I'll come up with a better chapter title later.**

**It's the new year so to start it off I want to get on stories that I need to finish and have forgotten. Thanks goes to dark demon122 and DirectionOnForever for encouraging me to get off my lazy ass and update. I really needed that!**

**I realized that the chapters before were complete crap and I'm wondering whether I should go back and completely retype them or not... And with the time off I used to my other stories, my writing has improved so it should be more pleasant to read:)**

**I'm sorry for taking so long to update. Writer's block has hit _hard_ me so this chapter is out on a limb here and I'm clueless on where to go. I realized that my past idea would not have worked out and I'm asking for any and all suggestions please.**

* * *

The next morning, Tayoncé awoke to a room that was not her own. Her head was pounding and her body felt like she had been thru a washing machine. With great difficulty, she had to force her eyes open and sit up, and ignore the fog that seemed to cloud her brain from thinking clearly.

The room was decorated in bright colors, she took in. The walls were clean, and so were the bed sheets—and an actual bed—and the room didn't have a dank smell lingering inside.

At first she had began to panic, but then the memories hit her like bricks: finally moving in with Mayonna, her mother arranging a court meeting for her adoption, her kidnapping in a time machine, finding out that her best friend and her mother died in a fire.

And the tears were not far behind.

Tayoncé curled into herself, hugging her knees as close to her chest as she could.

She was trapped.

She was alone, trapped, and isolated. Everything and everyone she knew was dead now, she had been told. She was stuck in a strange world and had no way of getting home.

She didn't try stopping the tears that streamed down her face.

In the rest of the house, the Robinson's were caring on their day as if nothing was out of the ordinary. It was a Monday, so Lazlo, Tallulah, Billy, and Gaston were out doing...whatever they did, Franny thought to herself. Wilbur was in school and Art was at work at this time of the hour, and the rest were either at work or also minding his or her own business.

Franny bit her knuckle nervously as she walked down the hallway. She was caught in a very rough and sketchy decision. The owner of the city's concert hall had given her a deal to allow her frogs to play for their first gig. The problem was that she didn't know if she could go thru with it. More precisely, she was afraid to.

If she hadn't been so deeply in thought, she would have missed the sounds from the guest room. It was the room that Tallulah's friend was using for the time being. Franny had become concerned for the poor girl since her graceless incident last night. And then after finding out that she had collapsed, she refused to allow her to rest anywhere but here.

Franny paused in front of the tall blue door, and the more she listened, the more she was sure. She leaned her ear close to the door and sure enough, the sound of sobs was so faint, one could have easily missed it.

She knocked on the door, unknowingly making girl inside jump. "Morning," she called, trying to sound happy. "Are you okay in there...?"

Tayoncé wiped her face and stared at the door.

She didn't get an answer.

Franny sighed before asking in a low voice, "may I come in?"

Again, no answer but the bed creak as Tayoncé moved.

Franny opened the door slowly as not to spook her.

There was a window right next to the bed, Franny saw a pair birds in the tree nearby. The girl was sitting up in bed and her knees were drawn to her chest. She refused to look at Franny and instead continued staring out the window.

"How are you feeling," Franny asked, slowly stepping inside the room.

This time she did get an answer—the girl only shrugged slightly.

"Is your stomach okay?" she asked. "Are you dizzy? You feel hungry?" Franny had reached out her hand to feel her forehead but recoiled, remembering that she didn't know this child. Franny looked to the floor. She had let her mother-mode switch on and didn't mean to bombard her with questions. "I'm sorry..."

When she looked up, the girl was staring at her.

Franny almost stuttered. "May I sit?" she motioned to the empty space on the bed.

The girl didn't answer, and after seconds of her continued staring, Franny sat.

"Tayoncé, was it?"

She nodded but refused to speak. She saw Franny's look soften and her hand reach for her. Tayoncé began to shrink away out of habit, making Franny hesitate, but stopped remembering the hospitality the woman had shown her the night before. She remained rigid as Franny held her cheek.

"You look pale, honey."

Her tone of voice made Tayoncé uncomfortable. It was weird and unknown, and she couldn't put a finger on it.

"You haven't eaten breakfast, have you," Franny realized. She stood up before motioning to the small girl. "Come, let's fix you something to eat," she smiled. She was glad that Tayoncé followed her out the room and down the stairs without a word. Franny resisted the urge to shudder. The look she had seen in that girl's eyes was one she had only seen on some who had been homeless when she was younger, before the poverty rate all but diminished.

It was the look of hopelessness, a dead look of someone who had given up on everything. To Franny, the look shouldn't belong to a child. There was no other young person whom she had so vividly seen such adversity and regret in whose eyes.

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**I wanted to have something out before January 1st was over. And by the way,**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR AND BELATED WINTER HOLIDAYS!**

**I apologize for this being so short. I'll update a longer version hopeful soon, but if I get any ideas and suggestions on where to go, those chapters will come MUCH quicker. And if you all like this story thus far, please and feel free to read my other stories:)**

**Please review and Until next chapter! :) -Onyxx**


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